Monday, 7 October 2013

The Unicursal Hexagram is widely believed to have been created by Aleister Crowley, but the reality is that it is a form introduced in a paper called Polygons and Polygrams, one of seven papers given out in the 4=7 grade of the Golden Dawn. Regardie did not publish this in its entirety, so it is not surprising there is some confusion, but the nature of this symbol according to the Golden Dawn is a bit different to what many Thelemites turned it into.

As the image shows, this is not just another way to draw a standard hexagram, allowing for a single united line, but rather a symbol that denotes something entirely different. It is arguably more alchemical than planetary.

It is classified as the third form of the hexangle and is called the "pseudo-hexagram" or "irregular third form." Its description is: "Denotes the presidency of the Sun and Moon over the Four Elements, united in, and proceeding from, the Spirit."

It is not, therefore, a good replacement for the hexagrams used in the Ritual of the Hexagram, as the only planets concerned are the Sun and Moon, and the Sun is no longer the central focus point, but an opposing force to the Moon, which is its sister and twin.

Saturday, 24 August 2013

While going through some of my Golden Dawn papers I came across a diagram of two interlaced hexagrams, which show how the colours of the Zodiac signs are obtained. I have reproduced this here so that others wondering why, for example, Scorpio is "green-blue" can see the pattern.

This diagram needs some explanation. The colours of the planets do not entirely match the Golden Dawn's system, either for the King or Queen Scales of either the planets themselves or the Sephiroth to which they are attributed. The problematic ones are Saturn (typically indigo, or if we take the colour of its Sephirah, black), Jupiter (typically violet, though blue is applicable to its Sephirah), Mercury (typically yellow, though orange is applicable to its Sephirah), and Sol (typically orange, though yellow is applicable to its Sephirah). These planetary colours appear largely drawn from the Greater Key of Solomon.

Once we appoint six signs to the planets (Mercury to Gemini, for example), we then have the basic colours in place. The remaining six signs are simply combinations of the two colours on either side. For example, Taurus is between Aries (red) and Gemini (orange), and thus its colour is red-orange.

There are some other names used for some of these combinations, such as indigo for Capricorn, but this is a combination of violet and blue. Likewise, crimson (or ultra-violet crimson) for Pisces is a combination of red and violet, while amber for Cancer is a combination of orange and yellow.

While the Golden Dawn has not done so, we could arguably call all the mixed colours by another name. For example, the red-orange of Taurus is peach. The yellow-green of Virgo is lime. The green-blue of Scorpio is aquamarine. However, it is easier to remember the colours as combinations of the two colours on either side than a more fancy name.

Most of these match very nicely, but not all appear to match the Golden Dawn's colour scales. Unless the colour scales in Regardie's book contain errors (which is certainly a possibility, and I have not had time to compare them to original documents yet), there is one sign that doesn't add up. Leo is yellow on this colour wheel, but greening-yellow in the King Scale. Everything else appears to largely match.

Please note that the colours displayed in the diagram may differ on your monitor or might not match your definition of the colour. It is provided for illustration only.

Saturday, 17 August 2013

The word Adept brings a lot to mind, so much so that I believe it necessary to clarify some things regarding Adepts in the Golden Dawn system.

Firstly, using the word Adept on its own is a bit of a misnomer, for the Golden Dawn classified Adepts based on just how much they knew and could do (within the context of the system). Those who are advanced to 5=6 were Adepti Minores, which shows that they are Lesser Adepts, in much the same way there is a Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram before the Supreme Ritual is taught.

Only at 6=5 is an initiate an Adeptus Major and only at 7=4 is he or she an Adeptus Exemptus.

Yet within these lofty grades are a set of sub-grades, which specify even further the level of the initiate. For example, in 5=6 we have the Neophyte Adeptus Minor, Zelator Adeptus Minor, Theoricus Adeptus Minor, Practicus Adeptus Minor, Philosophus Adeptus Minor, and finally Adept Adeptus Minor. All of that is before 6=5 is even approached.

Of course, historically the Order collapsed before anything beyond Theoricus Adeptus Minor was created, and both the Stella Matutina and later Alpha et Omega abolished the sub-grades and moved material to higher grades. Many modern orders, however, have restored these sub-grades and implemented relevant teachings.

The beauty of the sub-grades, beyond the fact that they are useful divisions of content, is that they are somewhat humbling. The new Adept not only has to remind him or herself that he or she is just an Adeptus Minor, but a Neophyte Adeptus Minor. He or she is "newly planted" once more and very much a beginner in the new material he or she will be learning and practising.

The process extends further into 6=5 and 7=4, where the sub-grades may also be employed. Some groups keep these as single grades, but there appears to be some evidence to suggest the Alpha et Omega, at least, adopted sub-grades at these levels in its early years, suggesting this was the intended structure for the Golden Dawn as well.

Thus, when the Adept, who recognises that he or she is a Lesser Adept, has gone through the process of Neophyte to Philosophus within this first Adept grade, and now dons the title of Adept Adeptus Minor, he or she is now faced with being "newly planted" all over again as a Neophyte Adeptus Major. Further still, when the sub-grades of that grade are undergone, it begins again with Neophyte Adeptus Exemptus.

This might seem like an overly complex way of doing things, but it does show that Adepthood is just the beginning, in much the same way a black belt in a martial art is. The Outer Order is preparatory, while entry into the 5=6 does not mark achievement, per se, but rather the start of the quest in earnest towards that achievement.

Thus, when we speak of Adepts in the Golden Dawn system, we might be discussing very different things, or people at very different levels. This does not even take into consideration the vast differences between people, their experiences, their skills, and how dedicated or not they are to the Great Work. All of these factors make for very different Adepts at very different stages of their magical maturity, and even the grade structure itself, evocative as it is, is merely symbolic of spiritual progress that cannot be so easily defined.

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Last year I explored the official view of the Order, spanning several decades, on the topic of mediums, one of the few areas of spiritual practice that was overtly prohibited by the founders of the Golden Dawn.

In fact, while Mathers and Westcott disliked certain other groups (the Lake Harris school, the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor and the Rose Croix of Sir Peladan, for example), the Order took a stauncher view on mediumship and related practises, so much so that it became part of the Oath every initiate had to take.

Here I will share some more examples of the Order's views on mediums, which might help clarify the matter and show that it was not a view taken lightly, nor was it only held for a certain period of time or by just one or two people in the Order.

The first example is from Dr. William Berridge, who shows the Order's dislike of mediumship in one of his illustrations of experiences he had:

"A lady, hoping to develop herself spiritually had allowed herself to become passively mediumistic, and her health began to fail.

"On one occasion, feeling very weak, she asked me to mesmerise her. I availed myself of this opportunity, and while apparently only making mesmeric passes over her I occultly surrounded her with a protective aura as in my own case. The result was successful, she improved in strength, and, as a well-known student of occultism observed to me, she looked more human; and with all this, her mediumistic experiences ceased. Had she followed my advice, and held herself positive; I believe she would have fully recovered her health and strength; but she again drifted back into her former condition of passive mediumship, her health broke down, and after a lingering illness, she died."

— Flying Roll V, Some Thoughts on Imagination (Berridge)

Interestingly, Berridge's method of helping the medium in this case was to "mesmerise her." Of course, it does not state that he ever allowed himself to be mesmerised himself, which would have been a violation of the Oath. Berridge's account clearly shows that mediumship was considered dangerous, so much so that it was thought to cause illness and death in this case, despite his efforts to help her cultivate a more active control of her existence.

P.W. Bullock also briefly highlights the views of mediumship as being the opposite of the magical path, since they are passive rather than active, negative rather than positive.

"It will be seen upon consideration that every thought which is creative and positive (as distinct from a passive and mediumistic reflex) must contain, as it were, within itself the complement and completion thereof, i.e. Intuition."

— Flying Roll XXVII, The Principia of Theurgia or the Higher Magic (Bullock)

Mathers was quite clear about his disapproval of mediumship, even warning members to avoid self-hypnosis when performing skrying, since this would open the magician to becoming overly passive. He encouraged members to retain active control of their practises and experiences:

"In using Symbols it is necessary to avoid self hypnotisation, for this occurrence would dispose you to mediumship, and to be the playground of forces you must control, and not permit to control you."

— Flying Roll XI, Clairvoyance (Mathers)

Again Mathers speaks out against self-hypnosis, highlighting the dangers caused by such an approach, which include deception and obsession:

"He or she who is operating should avoid carefully any self hypnotisation by the Tattva, for this will simply lead to foolish and hysteric visions, the offspring of the intoxication of the Operator’s astral sphere by the Tattva."

For those thinking this was just a focus of Mathers, it is important to note that Westcott fully agreed with him about the dangers of mediumship and the negative or passive atitude:

"So long as you lead an ordinary life you are safe from the assaults of influences beyond the material world of your brother men; but as soon as you get outside of that world and put yourself in a position to seek out occult mysteries, you bring yourself under the action of forces of which you know very little or nothing. The only way to avoid being controlled by such forces, to which you have rendered yourself liable, is to preserve what we call the positive attitude, which is the extreme contrast to what is called mediumship. A medium is one who cultivates negativity and such a person is therefore one to be avoided. The condition we want you to cultivate is that of positivity. I could give you a very good example of a person who is negative and who has got into trouble almost entirely through that."

— Flying Roll IXI, The Aims and Means of Adeptship (Westcott)

Unfortunately Westcott never gives the example, so we do not know who or what he was referring to, but clearly the founders and members were seeing first-hand some of the disastrous effects of such a passive approach to spiritual experience, which is, as he says "the extreme contrast" of the magical approach, where the magician retains active control.

For those thinking the Order changed its mind on this after a period, let us consider the following quote from Monia Mathers, dated July 1926, nearly three decades after the founding of the Order:

"Regarding seers and mediums, as before remarked, our school lays great stress on the simultaneous development of, crudely speaking, the three planes of being, which development must precede psychic experiment. The methods employed to equilibrate the nature entail considerable study, time and patience. There is no royal road to any science, let alone the science of the occult. Before touching such experiments as obtain in spiritualism, the student would be supposed to be in a measure aware of the nature of the entities he would be likely to encounter, and especially to have some idea of the constitution of Man. When this is achieved he will be equipped and enabled to face the many dangers and difficulties he will encounter in the invisible world.

[...]

"Spiritualism is distinctly a Western movement and has certainly been the means of bringing conviction of the after life to many. The methods employed by spiritualists may be very dangerous, in that they frequently lack the preliminary preparation and knowledge necessary before approaching psychic phenomena. The spiritualist who lacks this specialized knowledge must be prepared to encounter all the dangers which explorers in unknown lands are beset. He who enters into these regions has sometimes found it easier to open the door than to close it."

— Moina Mathers, Introduction to The Kabbalah Unveiled (July, 1926)

Ritual V, on the Microcosm, states:

"And this is the reason why there are so many and multifarious errors in untrained spirit visions. For the untrained seer, even supposing him free from the delusions of obsession, doth not know or understand how to unite his consciousnesses and the harmonies between his own sphere of sensation, and the universe, the Macrocosmos. Therefore is it so necessary that the Adeptus Minor should correctly understand the principia and axiomata of our secret knowledge, which are contained in our Rituals and Lectures."

Here it is clear that the Order greatly values and encourages that anyone working with visions or related psychic phenomena is fully trained, to avoid delusion, obsession, and other dangers. The medium, lacking such training, qualifies as an "untrained seer."

In an Order paper providing some description of the meaning of the Tarot cards, we find the following for The Lovers:

"Inspiration (passive and in some cases mediumistic, thus differing from that of the Hierophant and Magician and Hermit.)"

Here we see a direct contrast between the mediumistic approach of passive inspiration to that of the Hierophant, Magician and Hermit, the latter three being cards distinctly tied with the active approach of the magician in the Golden Dawn system, and further representing the Three Magi.

It should be clear by this stage that mediumship was not approved of in the Order, a fact that has been stated numerous times by scholars and historians (see, for example, page 33 of R.A. Gilbert's The Golden Dawn: Twilight of the Magicians). This is not to say that the Order disapproved of psychic activity in general (such as skrying and clairvoyance), as it clearly taught and encouraged this, when the initiate was ready for it and properly trained.

The magical path, however, is a very different one to the passive path of the medium, and the wise magician prepares with theory, arms with knowledge, tests with the Divine Names, signs and symbols, and retains active control of all voyages in unknown territory, lest he or she be lost in a sea of illusion or delusion, or hand over power to other people or other beings, and so lose that which makes them human, and that which might help them better come to know and understand the divine.

Wednesday, 31 July 2013

(An excerpt from the book S.R.I.A. Manual by Dr. George Winslow Plummer, published in 1923.)

1. Love God above all. To "love God" means to love wisdom and truth. We can love God in no other way than in being obedient to Divine law; and to enable us to exercise that obedience conscientiously requires knowledge of the law, which can only be gained by practice.

2. Devote your time to your spiritual advancement. As the sun without leaving his place in the sky sends his rays upon the earth to shine upon the pure and the impure, and to illuminate even the most minute material objects with his light; likewise the spirit of man may send his mental rays into matter to obtain knowledge of all terrestrial things; but there is no need that the spirit should thereby lose its own divine self-consciousness, and be itself absorbed by the objects of its perception.

3. Be entirely unselfish. Spiritual knowledge begins only where all sense of self ceases. Where the delusion which causes man to imagine himself to be a being separated and isolated from others ends, there he begins to realize his true state as an all-embracing universal and divine self conscious power.

4. Be temperate, modest, energetic, and silent. The door to the inner temple is called "Contentment"; but no animal can enter therein, only he who walks uprightly, being conscious of his true dignity as a human being. Without energy, nothing can be accomplished; and only in the silence, when all thoughts and desires are at rest, can the Divine harmonies penetrate to the internal ear.

5. Learn to know the origin of the Metals contained within thyself. Ignorance is the cause of suffering. That which is material must be crucified and die, so that that which is spiritual may be resurrected and live.

6. Beware of quacks and pretenders. He who claims to be in possession of knowledge knows nothing; only he through whom the Word of wisdom speaks is wise.

7. Live in constant adoration of the highest good. The worm seeks for pleasure among abomination and filth; but the free eagle spreads his wings and rises up towards the sun.

8. Learn the theory before you attempt the practice. He who travels with a trustworthy guide will be safer than he who refuses to profit by the experience of another.

9. Exercise charity towards all beings. All beings are one in the spirit; divided from each other merely by the illusion of form. He who is charitable towards another form in which the universal One Life is manifest, saves suffering to his own self.

10. Read the ancient books of wisdom. Books are to the unripe mind that which the mother's milk is to the nursling. We must receive drink from others until we have gained sufficient strength and experience to descend to the living fountain within ourselves, and to draw from there the water of truth.

11. Try to understand their secret meaning. That which is external may be seen with the external eye; but that which is spiritual can only be seen with the eye of the spirit.

These are the eleven rules which ought to be followed by those who desire to enter the temple of the Rosy Cross; but the Rosicrucians have a twelfth rule, an Arcanum, in which great powers reside, but of which it is not lawful to speak. This Arcanum will be given to those who deserve it, and by its aid they will find light in the darkness, and a guiding hand through the labyrinth. This Arcanum is inexpressible in the language of mortals, and it can, therefore, only be communicated from heart to heart. There is no torture enough to extract it from the true Rosicrucian; for even if he were willing to reveal it, those who are unworthy of it are not capable of receiving it.

Friday, 21 June 2013

The Ancient and Honourable Order of the Golden Dawn officially unveiled itself today with the launch of its new website, which highlights its goals and approach to the teachings and tradition of the Golden Dawn.

The Order currently operates the Dublin Temple, which was officially founded on Summer Solstice 2009. Since then it has flourished, offering candidates a traditional experience of the Golden Dawn, with the original rituals and teachings of the Order.

Friday, 31 May 2013

31 May 2013—Dublin, Ireland—KERUBIM PRESS has announced the imminent release of its latest esoteric title, Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls by the Golden Dawn Community (ISBN 978-1-908705-07-5), due to launch on 14 June 2013.

The book weighs in at 440 pages, packed not
only with all 36 Flying Rolls (including rare material), but with
additional magical teachings, historical insights, and commentaries from
members of a variety of modern Golden Dawn orders, including well-known
authors like Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, Aaron Leitch, Nick Farrell
and Peregrin Wildoak.

Anyone working with the Golden Dawn system
of magic, and, indeed, anyone working in the Western Mystery Tradition
as a whole, will find this an indispensible addition to their
bookshelves.

Check out the back cover description:

This book contains the 36 pivotal
papers given to Adepts in the original Golden Dawn order, providing key
insights and instructions into the theory and practice of magic, from
theurgy, imagination and symbolism to clairvoyance, divination and
telesmatic images. For the first time these texts are brought together
in a single printed volume, along with some rare administrative versions
that were all but ignored by modern eyes.

In addition, extensive and insightful
commentaries from modern Golden Dawn magicians from a variety of orders
are here provided, adding to the corpus of teaching provided in the
Flying Rolls themselves.

The book will retail for $29.99, £19.99,
€24.99, or AU$29.99. It will be available through all major online
bookstores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and The Book
Depository. Bookstores are welcome to contact Kerubim Press to inquire
about wholesale options.

Monday, 13 May 2013

The Tattvas have long appeared to be the most unorthodox aspect of the Golden Dawn system, clashing quite obviously (at least on the surface) with the rest of the Order's Western-leaning teachings. The shapes and colours don't seem to fit, and it seems readily apparent to many that there are other, perhaps better, alternatives.

And here is where we need to be careful, because it is this kind of reasoning that can hold us back, can hinder us from actually learning something new. Not all is clean-cut on the esoteric path, and we are frequently forced to reconcile opposing ideas and balance seemingly contradictory thoughts.

First, let us explore the tattvas from a historical perspective. Many Golden Dawn members were also members of the early school of Theosophy when it was more Western focused. They were also exposed to Eastern teachings, some of which were mentioned in passing in various Golden Dawn documents, often as ways to help better explain Western material.

But why did the Golden Dawn use the tattvas and not other Eastern material? If it was simply an issue of them being new and intriguing, it begs the question why so many other new and intriguing ideas from across the globe were not embraced. Surely their introduction was less because of their general appeal and more because they actually fit into the system.

But how do they fit? Prithivi is a yellow square and relates to Earth. The square aspect matches Western associations, thanks to the Platonic solid of the cube, but the colour yellow would suggest, in the Golden Dawn, the element of Air. Likewise, the blue circle of Vayu would suggest Water, but is actually Air, and the black egg would suggest Earth, but is actually Spirit. Only the red triangle of Tejas appears to match other Golden Dawn associations, while the silver crescent of Apas does bring to mind the lunar connection of Water.

So then we have incongruence, and here is part of the beauty of this system within the carefully ordered material of the Golden Dawn. When these are skryed, the magician is instantly faced with, in most cases, preconceptions based on the colour and shape of the objects, which could easily provide a false vision. Yet because their real associations are often starkly different, it is generally easier to notice these illusions. For example, if the magician were to skry Prithivi and be greeted with Air-related imagery, then he or she immediately knows that the vision is not reliable. So, in a sense, the Tattvas provide an additional testing mechanism by the pure fact that they do not so easily match the correspondences Golden Dawn magicians have previously learned.

However, there is more to these than that. My personal experience suggests the Tattvas are tamer in nature than many other symbols, despite their elemental associations. They appear to cause less astral strain, and the energy involved is gentler than, for example, the four alchemical triangles that magicians in the West are more familiar with. The colours match more closely the Queen Scale, and thus work on a lower level than the King Scale colours we are perhaps more familiar with. Therefore, the Tattvas present a good introduction to the art of skrying that is less likely to result in dangerous situations for those new to the technique.

That raises the question why Mathers never advocated skrying the four elemental triangles. The Neophyte learns of these triangles, and they become an essential part of magical teaching and tradition. I agreed for many years with others who suggested these symbols were more appropriate, but I have come to learn differently over time. It was not like Mathers was not aware of them. They appear to be the most logical symbols to use, and yet he chose not to. There must be a reason for this apparent oversight.

The reason for this can be better understood when we look at the following passage in the original paper on the Hexagram Ritual:

"Remember also that the triangle if apex downward is an extremely evil and hurtful symbol and it is for this reason that these symbols of the elements [fire triangle, water triangle, air triangle, earth triangle] are not usually traced as Sigils, but are replaced with the Cherubic emblems of Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius and Taurus."

One will note that in the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram the inverted triangle is only employed in conjunction with an upright triangle, unless in very rare circumstances as a double inverted triangle for use in workings with evil forces, largely beyond the scope of the Zelator Adeptus Minor.

What this reveals, however, is that the inverted triangle, employed as the symbol of Water, is considered evil, and thus also we may consider the inverted triangle with line employed as the symbol of Earth. Thus, if we were to skry these, we would be working with evil symbols. This would go a long way to explaining the harsher energy and more straining nature I have personally experienced with these symbols. It would also explain why these familiar symbols were not employed for skrying, with the Tattvas taking their place.

It is not difficult to see why Mathers advised against using an inverted triangle. The upright triangle is, after all, one of the primary symbols of the Order and that which we aspire to, the Supernal Triad. When inverted it is similar to the pentagram, putting Kether below Chokmah and Binah, and, in effect, marking the Fall. The symbols on the altar also relate to this, for while the inverted triangle is employed, the Cross is never placed below it, for that would be the symbol of the Order entirely overturned.

Of course, the Vault walls do employ the inverted Water triangle, but note that it is balanced by the upright Fire triangle, and between them is the reconciling symbol of Air. Note also the absence of the Earth Triangle, the very emblem of that which has Fallen.

There is much in this worth careful study, but this is sufficient for understanding the place of the Tattvas in the Golden Dawn system, and why also we should look deeper into why the pieces of the system were designed in this way.

In the esoteric world we are often seen as being tied to the forces of our birth charts. Our strengths and weaknesses, our high points and low points, our ideals and aims, what drives us and holds us back, are all mapped out before us like an oracle, like the foretelling of our doom.

Indeed, it is often the case that many occultists will blame their chart for their problems, admitting a kind of fatalist thinking, where who and what we are is already decided, and cannot be deviated from.

This is, in my opinion, an unacceptable approach for a magician, and certainly for a Gnostic. An adept who blames exterior forces for his or her problems is an adept hoping to escape responsibility, and thus this shows a magical immaturity which is not congruent with adepthood.

Those who seek to escape responsibility enter a greater prison of the mind and soul, handing over the keys to their being to a force or power undeserving of them. We study astrology not merely to find out who we are and are likely to be, but so that we can redirect the forces and powers to create ourselves as we see fit, knowing that the road carved out before us is not the road we necessarily have to travel.

When we climb the Tree of Life we encounter the planets in turn. The Golden Dawn's grade structure is built upon this. The subtle suggestion is that as the Theoricus gains the secrets of Yesod, he or she gains mastery over the Moon, and is thus free from her reign. Of course, we talk of the real initiation, not merely the grade attained within an order, and this is far more likely to occur in the sub-grades of Adeptus Minor or above than in the Outer Order.

So if, from a Gnostic perspective, climbing the Tree of Life allows us to gain freedom from the Archons of the planets, what happens when, in the case of the Golden Dawn, the attainable human grades stop at 7=4? Here there is a mystery, for the only remaining of the old planets is Saturn in Binah, and Saturn is the Demiurge—Saturn is Death and the bondage of mortality.

So, in one sense, there is no escaping the Demiurge for any of us, for we must all answer the call of death, but in another, far greater sense, this is the ultimate freedom, the loosening of the shackles of mortality, knowing in our mind, heart and soul that we are undying. This is the Elixir of Life, the Philosopher's Stone, that which the alchemists of old have strived for and which the complete adept attains.

Chokmah is linked with the wheel of the Zodiac, showing that even after escaping the seven jails, there is an outer wall that must be climbed. Yet even then there is Kether and the Gilgulim, the reincarnation of the soul, which is, from one perspective, another prison, similar to the samsara of the Buddhists. One freedom is, as it were, another prison, yet ultimately it is in Kether that we experience unity, and so if in there we find the jailkeeper, in there we also find the key.

Friday, 22 March 2013

In an interesting blog post Nick Farrell asked a pivotal, and yet frequently ignored, question about why some magic fails. He cited a number of reasons people have given over time, including classic cop-outs like God or your Higher Self saying no, and the more acceptable notion of psychological blocks.

On the first topic, I do not personally believe that God or the Higher Self would refuse a request. This might be an acceptable idea in a devotional school of thought, but magicians do not simply go with the flow—they create and direct the flow. A magician is an active player in the universe, one who takes responsibility for his or her life. If a ritual for a job is performed and it does not work, then the magician cannot simply blame God and accept this as "the way it is meant to be." Such fatalistic thinking has no place in magic.

So if external forces are not stopping us, that leaves internal forces. In many ways we are our own worst enemies, and part of the process of the Golden Dawn system is to tear down the poorly built construct enforced on us by society, our own Tower of Babalon, and build in place something with a stronger foundation, a "self" designed and moulded by us as we see fit. Of course, this is no easy task, and this is why we employ powerful occult symbolism and forces to give us an advantage in the battle with our own minds.

When a ritual fails, then, there is certainly an element of us blocking the result. We might wonder why any of us would block a result like winning the lottery, but these are usually deeply rooted subconscious blocks, the kinds of things people spend their entire lives trying to sort out, while others remain oblivious to them. Feelings of guilt or inadequacy could unearth the seeds of prosperity that are sown in a ritual, while doubt and frustration, and even the "lust for results" can cause a constant blight upon them.

Nick raised the point that this explains why his own ritual for himself might fail, but why does a ritual performed by another magician for him also fail? The same issues apply, but there are additional factors. Firstly, the manifestation is sought within person X's life, so it does not matter whether person X or person Y does the magic; it still has to go through the conduit of person X's world, where it can be assailed by all the various destructive elements of his or her psyche. And even if it manages to bypass these, person X might be in such a negative mindset in regard to the desired outcome that he or she could actually be ignoring the opportunities that are arising as a result of the magic done.

Let us use an example to drive this point home. If Bob does a ritual for wealth, but is unsuccessful, and then asks for the help of Jane, but then Bob refuses to accept a job offer or go to that social event where he would have met millionaire Tom, the issue is not that the magic has not worked, but that the resulting opportunities have not been taken. This might be through the same feelings of inadequacy that stopped Bob's ritual from working in the first place, or Bob might be so immersed in his financial issues that he not only does not see a way out, but his frustration blinds him to any doors being opened to him.

Of course, the problem with this idea is that it is hard to prove, because we do not know for certain what would have happened if any available avenue was taken. Attending the party might have led to Bob meeting Tom, but there is no guaranteeing they would have become friends, or that Tom would have offered Bob a job or paid off his debt. Missed opportunities are generally, by their very definition, things that have slipped under the radar, so it easier to simply think a ritual has not worked.

There is also the issue of whether or not a ritual should be left to its own devices or constantly reinforced. While there are various schools of thought on this, I think a middle ground approach is the most effective. When a ritual is performed, there is a "gestation" period immediately after, and ideally the magician has set a time frame for the result to become manifest, by which time he or she can judge if it has succeeded or failed. During this period it is important to let things happen, not constantly check to see if they are happening. This is the "To Keep Silent" part of the Powers of the Sphinx. The reason for this is that we performed the ritual in our magical mindset, but we usually "check in" later with our mundane mindset, which has the tendency to question, doubt and otherwise undermine our efforts. The fact that we need to check at all means we are unsure if it is really doing the job, so immediately we are smothering the seeds with doubt, or prodding at the earth with questions, potentially unearthing the seeds completely.

To balance this approach, however, we need to consider that once the gestation period is up, and if the desired outcome has not manifested, it is senseless to simply give up. The ritual, a variant, or something new entirely should be employed. If the desired outcome is monumental, then we must make an investment on a similarly large scale, potentially a long-term magical operation. Perseverance is the key to success in any aspect of life. Those who stop climbing the mountain halfway up will never reach the summit.

In the end the elaborate rituals we employ are largely designed to bypass the parts of ourselves that doubt our abilities or attempt to hold us back. Instead of using language like "I deserve X," we employ symbolic language that does this on a much more primal level, tapping into the very essence of not only our own being, but that of the universe at large. There such seeds can grow into manifest results, in much the same way we consider the Four World of the Qabalah in the formation of things from archetypal concepts to the World of Action.

The magician therefore needs to want the result more than they doubt or fear it. Then they must will it to happen with an appropriate level of investment for the scale of the result sought. Then they must not recall the line that has been thrown before the fish has a chance to bite, yet they must also provide a bait, and this is the creation of an environment where the opportunities of success can occur.

Monday, 7 January 2013

Hermetic Virtues has entered its sixth year, publishing articles on the Golden Dawn and general esoteric ideas and teachings from well-known magicians in the field. Check out the contents of the latest issue:

+ The Alchemical Hexagram by Chic and Tabatha Cicero
+ The Emperor by Harry Wendrich
+ The Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet - A book review by Aaron Leitch
+ Group Work - an unpublished Whare Ra document - Mrs. Felkin with a commentary by Nick Farrell
+ Hidden Treasures of the Golden Dawn - A book review by Samuel Scarborough
+ Invocation of the Powers of Aquarius by Jayne Gibson
+ Astrological Magic - A book review by Samuel Scarborough
+ Becoming the Star Child by Nick Farrell
+ An Invocation of Kether by Samuel Scarborough

Mishkan ha-Echad

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About Me

He has written extensively on occult topics, including articles for Hidden Spirit, Hermetic Virtues, and The Gnostic. He also blogs regularly about topics related to the Golden Dawn and Gnosticism.

He has been involved with a number of magical groups, including the Order of the Sons and Daughters of Light and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and he is currently a member of the Ancient and Honourable Order of the Golden Dawn (www.ahogd.com)